Belum Rainforest Resort

The location is pleasant and the rooms are well-maintained. However, the restaurant offers only basic dining options. The primary concern is the service quality and lack of integrity from the management team. They failed to book our pre-arranged activities and, when we departed a day early due to these issues, promised via email to reimburse our room costs. Eight months later, we have yet to receive this refund despite their written commitment. Rather than addressing the situation honestly, the staff chose to make false promises and avoid accountability. I recommend considering alternative accommodations to avoid similar disappointment.

We tried very hard to make a reservation for 2 nights, tours and permits by ourselves, but unfortunately the staff of this resort isn’t communicative at all…. We’ve sent e-mails; no responses at all…. We’ve sent whatsapp messages, only unclear reactions. After several days. We even called them 2 times. They promised to send us information, which they didn’t or only after a couple of days. With unclear information….. The last resort was to ask the hotel staff in Georg Town where we also booked, to help. Which they did (a big thank you!). But without any result…… After a couple of weeks of several attempts we decided to stay longer in Georg Town and skip Belum Rainforest Resort…….🥲 When we drove by on our way to the Perhentians, we we’re exited of (the surroundings of) Belum Rainforest Resort. But also happy that we skipped this resort. This resort first needs better staff, and certainly better management……

We stayed here in a ground floor ‘Chengal’ room for two nights as part of a short group visit. Our overall experience was mixed, but we left feeling we would like to return, but in a different category room. First the positive comments. The resort location and scenery are without doubt stunning, with views over the water to jungle covered mountains. The resort is also quiet (we did not hear any traffic noise, which other reviews have mentioned) and the combination of the views, and the silence make it a good place to simply relax. We took, and would highly recommend, the resort-organised tour by boat which includes some short jungle walks to see the Rafflesia plant, a Salt Lick, and a Waterfall. The walks in the forest are not difficult, but a couple of short sections required use of a rope handrail to negotiate steeper parts of the trails. Our boatman/guide Hafeez was excellent, knowledgeable and very friendly. The entire tour was conducted by speed boat between the locations, and the scenery around the lake en route was just stunning. Sadly we did not see any of the wildlife which inhabits the forest, but Hafeez reported having seen an elephant on the previous day. We also hired resort kayaks, and that too was an excellent and tranquil experience. Now the negatives. We were disappointed with our Chengal room for a couple of reasons. They are constructed of grey concrete, and the interior floors and walls are of polished concrete, which gives a boxy, industrial, unfinished feel. Our major gripe however was the toilet, which opens directly into the bathroom area at the rear of the room, and is not equipped with a solid door - just a shower curtain! If you enjoy privacy when using the toilet, this is not the room for you, unless you are alone. I do not understand why this has been done, but all Chengal rooms are apparently the same. Our second complaint was that when we arrived, the in-room safe was not working, and it took three requests before it was finally fixed 20 hours later. Another major issue with our specific room was the frequent noise from a steel staircase which ran up up the side of the building (our room was ‘end of terrace’) which created loud clanging and clunking noise every time someone used it. We could also clearly hear people moving around in the room above us. Having said all that, the bed was very comfortable, the shower worked well, and the in room amenities - including tea and coffee making facilities - are good. Some instructions for the state-of-the-art TV would have been very helpful. Dining is a mixed experience - breakfast and dinner are served buffet style, and while there is a good variety and selection of local and western food, a way needs to be found to keep the ‘hot’ food warmer - food in the chafing dishes was often cool. Alcoholic drinks are not available or served anywhere in the resort. Cans of beer only can be bought from an on-site vending machine, but have to be consumed in your room, or in a couple of designated outdoor locations (the smoking area being one). They cannot be taken into the restaurant. Having said all the above, overall the pluses outweighed the minuses and we would be happy to return, but not to a Chengal Room. On future visits, we would most definitely book one of the wooden chalets (‘Tualang Chalet’) which directly overlook the lake, have a small balcony equipped with table and chairs, and which have a conventional properly separated bathroom and - more importantly - a toilet with a proper door.

The resort rooms are OK , a great swimming pool. But when you go into the restaurants this all goes away. The breakfast is cold (you expect warm food) taste is not the best and in the a la carte restaurant is even worse.. big part of the menu is not available, staff doesn’t care about this and just ignore the guest. Expected a lot of this resort but we are very disappointed.

Truly a hidden gem that is well worth the drive from KL. This was my first visit, and I was there to facilitate a training session, but the overall stay experience exceeded all expectations. I was genuinely impressed by the team’s passion and humility. They embodied authentic Malaysian hospitality, making every guest feel welcomed and cared for. The resort is beautifully nestled within a lush rainforest, and I appreciated how well-maintained and preserved the natural landscape was. The room was set up to a high standard, with great attention to cleanliness and comfort. Quality and guest satisfaction are priorities here. Breakfast spread has a good balance with both local and international mix, and was amazed with the creative texture of poori (traditional indian breakfast) as opposed to how it is made in local indian eateries and loved the sardine curry to go with it. The resort is more than just a place to stay and relax; it also has a garden of greenery to explore. Not to forget, the team members who assisted us with the recreational activities demonstrated their well-equipped knowledge and skills. We also learned through their sharing about nature. Overall, a perfect retreat for anyone looking to escape the city and enjoy some peace, tranquility, and nature. Highly recommended! Thank you once again to the management and team for your hospitality, and keep up the good effort.

From the moment we arrived we were impressed with this resort. The rooms were clean, spacious, comfortable with a good size bathroom. The resort is on the lake with spectacular views and plenty of walks without feeling crowded by other visitors. The food was great. Plenty of selection for breakfast. Can recommend the satay sticks for dinner. Must say the service was great as we only speak English. We took advantage of the 6 hour day on the lake where we were welcomed at an aboriginal village with lots of happy children and women doing their washing the traditional way. Also walked through the jungle to a salt lick and later a waterfall. Our guide Id and driver Chew were fantastic and accommodating when we spotted birds. The guys were so great that as we got off the Hornbills called so they excitedly pointed the direction. We also took the nature walk around the resort. Very interesting, and informative, learning amongst other things the uses of plants by the Malaysian people. So the reason for 4 out of 5 stars is the Night Nature Walk. In the dark this turned out to be a trek up and down slippery slopes for an hour with nature being a white cockroach and a shy spider. Other than this we enjoyed our time at Belum Rainforest Resort.

We had high expectations for our stay at Belum Rainforest Resort, but the lack of organization and service completely ruined it. Had we known how poorly managed this place was, we would never have booked. We pre-booked two tours, both confirmed in writing several days before our arrival. However, just an hour after check-in, we received a message stating that one of our tours, the elephant spotting, was "fully booked." Instead, they offered us a kayak tour—which directly conflicted with another morning tour we had already arranged. To make matters worse, we later realized they hadn’t even booked the morning tour either. We spent the entire day trying to find available spots with other companies, but the hotel staff was of no help. Even though they could see that our bookings had been confirmed multiple times in advance, they made no real effort to resolve the issue. Instead, we were repeatedly promised updates that never came. They assured us they would write to us the next morning about available bus seats. We waited 24 hours, and no one ever got back to us. By 5 PM the next day (the tour was 8.30 in the evening), we still hadn’t heard anything, so we had to go down to the reception ourselves—because they also don’t answer the phone. When we finally spoke to them, they told us everything had been arranged. We didn’t even asking why they hadn’t simply informed us earlier??? I find it completely unacceptable that we had to go to the reception for answers instead of them taking responsibility and informing us. Totally wasting our time. Their complete lack of organization and unwillingness to assist made this an extremely disappointing experience. In the end, we did manage to join the tour. But when talking to other guests, we found out that one of them had canceled due to illness—freeing up a spot for us. So after all the hassle, they could have just informed us earlier instead of leaving us in uncertainty. We spent far too much of our stay dealing with this issue. All they had to do was admit their mistake, apologize, and keep us updated via WhatsApp, but instead, they left us unknow. No apology, no messages, nothing. We had no idea whether we were going on the trip or not—which is quite relevant when you're in a rainforest. Every time we went to the reception, they just sent us away, saying they would write to us. That never happened Based on this experience, I absolutely do not recommend Belum Rainforest Resort. Book another stay!

Our visit here was the lowlight of an otherwise superb tour of Malaysia. So poor in fact that we left a day early! It was disappointing in most respects. Like other reviews mentioned, the resort feels run down and almost neglected. The impression was that group tours got preference, as in fact only one eating area was open for dinner, in what I would describe as a day time cafe setting. A poor selection of food and very basic. Even the buffet breakfast was scant and unreplenished during service. Our room was meant to be a special one but the only thing that really set it apart was the view of the lake. There was little atmosphere overall and to be honest very little support from staff to show any direction to possible activities. It was absolutely not worth the trip to get there.

I booked an all-inclusive 3D2N package and paid in full just prior to the COVID pandemic. Lockdown came and I had to put off the trip for… 3 years! Fortunately they kept the booking record for me and I also made the effort to keep in contact with them regarding my booking over the period. It’s all about maintaining a good 2-way communication. The room was spacious and clean, food was good enough for me (I’m not the fussy kind and don’t put unresonable expectations), customer service was superb and I had nothing to complain about. The cooks in the cafe are friendly, if you are kind to them they will go the extra way for you. The view of the lake at sunset is beautiful. You can book lake trips from the resort, or if you’re the adventurous type you can drive up to the nearby Hentian Belum jetty and scout for a personalised boat service that can take you to Lower Belum or Upper Belum (need permits) areas, which was what we did. Please know that this place is located in the middle of nowhere, so speedmarts and cafes are had to find. If you’re lucky you get to spot some elephants on the road but we weren’t!

Both restaurant foods are not attractive. Should have more Malaysian food. Buffet dishes always not enough for guests. Resort facilities needed to maintain. Like pool table, darts, and etc. Room bath tub not clean. But overall is good and comfortable. Very nice environment.